Rosie Millard

Claudia Winkleman’s new Radio 2 show gets off to a brainless start

Plus: The History of English Podcast delivers delicious lightbulb moments in every episode

The producers of Claudia Winkleman's new Radio 2 show don't seem to think the listeners are very clever. Image: BBC / KEO Films / Nicky Johnston

Last Saturday on Radio 2 Claudia Winkleman was inaugurated as the host of what was formerly Graham Norton’s mid-morning spot. She announced her arrival by playing ‘Help!’ by the Beatles and offering a line-up comprised solely of fellow Saturday-night TV presenters. Here was Sir Tom Jones, calling in from ‘a terrace overlooking the Thames’ and repeating more or less the same interview he had delivered on Graham Norton’s TV show last month. Half an hour later came David Walliams, and to round things off Ant & Dec were prevailed upon to talk about their ‘jampacked’ ITV show later on that day. ‘How do you not unravel doing it?’ gushed Winkleman, as if A&D have not been a tightly ravelled mainstay of jampacked shows since about 1900.

The only genuinely interesting moment in the whole three hours was when Zoe from the BBC’s tech department was rung up in order to explain why the ‘crying with laughter’ emoji was being phased out as it was deemed old-fashioned. A good discussion might have ensued about the consortium that apparently selects emojis, but the opportunity was hijacked by Winkleman telling everyone (again) that she is 49 and that the word ‘consortium’ is a bit too long for her to use with confidence. Apparently, Radio 2 has booked Claudia in order to focus on its target audience of 35- to 44-year-old ‘Mood Mums’, but from the evidence of this show, the station doesn’t regard them as very clever.

‘When will it be safe to mug someone again?’

For clever, please visit The History of English Podcast, truly ‘jampacked’ with amazing facts that you can carry around with you and muse upon whenever you are reading, writing or speaking English. Each 30-minute episode is intellectually demanding, yet straightforward, without any In Our Time boffinery.

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